Tag Archive | "denver"

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens completed their final full practice of the week Thursday with unusual conditions ahead of Saturday’s playoff game in New England.

Offsetting their inability to practice outside due to Tuesday’s snowfall on top of already-frozen fields, head coach John Harbaugh opened the doors of their Owings Mills field house to create colder temperatures for Thursday’s workout on the indoor turf field. It’ll be the Ravens’ closest simulation this week to Saturday’s forecast in Foxborough, Mass. predicting a high of 20 degrees and winds up to 20 miles per hour for the 4:35 p.m. kickoff.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has had his team practice outdoors all week, but the Ravens are no strangers to frigid temperatures in January. Practicing outside at least a day or two would have been preferable, but Harbaugh wasn’t dwelling on any potential drawbacks as the Ravens try to become the NFL’s all-time leader in road playoff wins Saturday.

“It’ll be good. The situation is what it is,” Harbaugh said. “It’s not worth even contemplating. We don’t really have a turf field out here.”

Baltimore’s last trip to New England two years ago may have been 20 degrees warmer than Saturday’s prediction, but the Ravens experienced a game-time temperature of 13 degrees — with a wind chill of minus-1 — in Denver two years ago. Of course, the Ravens prevailed 38-35 in that double-overtime thriller against the Broncos in which quarterback Joe Flacco threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns.

But with only 17 players who were active that day remaining on the current 53-man roster — cornerbacks Lardarius Webb and Anthony Levine were both on injured reserve at the end of that season — it’s fair to wonder how much the frigid temperatures might affect the Ravens as they try to advance to their fourth AFC Championship game under Harbaugh.

“It’s going to be cold,” veteran linebacker Daryl Smith said. “You just have to focus on playing ball no matter the elements — if it’s rain, snow, whatever it is. We have a job to do, and that should be our only focus.”

As you’d expected, a number of players insisted they won’t wear sleeves as they desire the proper mindset to play in their coldest game of the 2014 season. Tight end Owen Daniels downplayed how much of an advantage Patriots players gained by working outside this week, wondering if they bundled up more for practices than they will for the game.

A former member of the Houston Texans, the 32-year-old played at New England in the playoffs two years ago, but the temperature was in the low 50s.

“It has to be really, really cold — negative temperatures — for it to get to players,” said tight end Owen Daniels, who studied meteorology at the University of Wisconsin. “The ball will be a little bit harder, a little more slick, so there are little issues you have to adjust to each week depending on the weather of the game.”

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Steve Smith has talked plenty about motivation this offseason but is also grounded in reality as he officially begins his first training camp with the Ravens on Thursday.

Understandably having a chip on his shoulder over being released by the Carolina Panthers after spending the first 13 seasons of his career in Charlotte, the 35-year-old wide receiver is looking to prove he still has plenty left in the tank to help the Ravens, but there are no predictions of a 1,300-yard season or a return to the Pro Bowl. His motivation is shaped by perspective with an eye toward the end of his career knowing nobody wins the battle with Father Time.

“You can never perform at as high a level at 35 that you did at 25,” Smith said. “My job is to go out there and catch what’s catchable and have fun doing it. [I don’t want to] really concern myself too much on the ‘what-ifs’ and ‘Should I be here?’ or ‘Should I be there?’ The things that I’ve experienced in my career, honestly, they’re not going to get any better, and the reason why is because my perspective is different. Hopefully, I will accomplish better things statistically, but I’m living the dream.”

It’s difficult to predict what to expect from Smith in terms of production on the field as his yards per catch average has decreased from 17.6 in 2011 to 16.1 in 2012 to 11.6 last season, which was his lowest mark since 2007. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound wideout has depended on speed on the outside for much of his career, but he will need to reinvent himself as more of a possession receiver to thrive in Gary Kubiak’s offensive system while Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones provide two stronger outside options in the vertical passing game.

The University of Utah product turned in an excellent spring, catching nearly everything thrown his way and running crisp shorter routes whether working outside or in the slot. Smith downplayed how long it will take to build a rapport with quarterback Joe Flacco — simply explaining he’ll catch anything that should be caught — but also recognizes he doesn’t have to be the primary focus of the passing game like he was for more than a decade with the Panthers.

“I understand there are going to be times when I’m the premier receiver,” Smith said, “and there are times that I need to clear through for Torrey or Jacoby or Marlon [Brown]. You have to be able to be efficient in any offense; you’ve got to understand in every play what your role is.”

Of course, the Ravens’ motivation in signing Smith to a three-year, $11.5 million in March went beyond the number of passes he’ll catch as the offense lacked vocal leadership and swagger last season following the trade of veteran wideout Anquan Boldin. Smith has already shown he isn’t afraid to stir the pot as he mixed it up with cornerback Lardarius Webb during last month’s mandatory minicamp.

He’ll need to be productive on the field to authentically establish himself as a leader, but the early returns suggest both sides of the ball have benefited from his competitive fire during practices. It’s a reputation that was well known to the Ravens long before the veteran stepped foot in Owings Mills this spring.

“We get another defensive guy playing offense with Steve coming over,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “This is one guy last year [who defensive coordinator] Dean Pees told us not to anger, and it was a preseason game. The goal was to do our time and get out of there. It’s great to have him on our team.”

Smith’s ability to rebound from an underwhelming 745-yard season a year ago will go a long way in determining whether the Ravens can substantially improve their 29th-ranked offense in 2013. He doesn’t need to be a 1,000-yard receiver, but the veteran will be asked to catch shorter passes and help move the chains on third down, an area in which the Ravens ranked only 20th last season.

The longtime Panther knows his career is winding down but thinks he’s found the ideal place to fit his personality.

“I’m lucky to even be here,” Smith said. “After you hit 35, you should be with a walker and all that stuff. I’m just happy to be playing ball and have the opportunity to play in a conference where it’s smash-mouth football, and I’m going to fit in perfectly [with] that.”

Pierce, Reid ready to go

The Ravens will conduct their first full-squad workout on Thursday morning and enter the summer with a short injury report as running back Bernard Pierce and offensive lineman Jah Reid both participated fully in Tuesday’s workout.

Pierce has now been cleared after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery while Reid was sidelined with a calf injury in the spring.

“These two days they both looked good. They both looked fine; they have no problems,” coach John Harbaugh said. “There are some full-speed-type drills out there, not contact, but the speed of it, and they had no problems. We’ll work them through the first two days. Thursday and Friday are both full speed, but they’re not full contact, so that’ll be another chance for them to take the next step that way. I don’t anticipate any problems.”

Defensive tackle Terrence Cody is the only veteran with a clear injury concern entering camp as he’s still recovering from offseason hip surgery. Harbaugh said the fifth-year lineman is progressing, but there is no clear target date of when he’ll return to the practice field.

Dumervil grateful for opportunity provided by Bowlen in Denver

With Wednesday’s news of Pat Bowlen stepping down as owner of the Denver Broncos due to Alzheimer’s disease, Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil offered his support after spending the first seven seasons of his career in Denver.

“He helped impact my life [and] my family for generations to come,” Dumervil said. “He was a great guy. He always asked about my health, and when I was out for the year [in 2010], we talked a bit. He was always great to me, and I was always grateful for that. When I heard about the news, it was a sad day for that.”

TOWSON, Md. — Former Towson forward and two-time Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Year Jerrelle Benimon will begin his professional basketball career on the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets NBA Summer League teams.

Though not selected in the 2014 NBA Draft, Benimon will join the Heat, which will participate in the Summer League from July 5-11 in Orlando, and the Nuggets, which will compete in the Summer League from July 11-21 in Las Vegas.

“We are excited for Jerrelle as he gets ready to begin play in the NBA summer league for two very strong franchises,” said Tiger Head Coach Pat Skerry. “I know he will carry over his many talents as well as his strong work ethic and team-first attitude that he played with here at Towson as he continues to build his professional basketball resume.”

Benimon put together one of the most impressive two-year stints by a player in Towson basketball history. A two-time CAA Player of the Year and 2013 AP Honorable Mention All-American, Benimon ranked in the Top 5 nationally in both rebounding and double-doubles each year he was in a Tiger uniform.

A Mid-Major First Team All-American this past season, Benimon guided Towson to a Division I school-record 25 wins, including a pair of victories in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. The 6-8 forward led the Tigers in scoring (18.7 ppg), rebounding (11.2 rpg) and assists (3.6 apg) as a senior. His 404 total rebounds during the 2013-14 season set a new school record and his mark only trails NBA Hall of Famer and former Navy standout David Robinson for the most rebounds in a season in CAA history.

Benimon also impressed scouts after the season as he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Reese’s College All-Star Game at the Final Four and posted impressive numbers at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.

Deemer Class added three goals for Duke (16-3), which will seek its second consecutive national championship and third overall Monday against the winner of the second semifinal between Maryland and Notre Dame.

Attackman Wesley Berg scored five goals for Denver (16-3), which has lost all three of its semifinal appearances. Jack Bobzien added three goals for the Pioneers.

Denver scored three straight goals to pull within 11-10 with 13:46 left. The two teams then traded scores before Duke reeled off three goals in a row to hold off the comeback attempt.